Crack the Sky
by lunarmotet
Summary: Fiyero is dead, Elphaba is imprisoned, and Glinda is the only one left who can change the fate of Oz. In an act of desperation, Glinda uses her powers to break a rift into another world. However, things do not go as planned, and Glinda, with some help from some new allies, must choose how far she will go to save the one she loves most. AU post-Fiyero's capture.
1. Chapter 1: Open the Rift

_Authors Note: Hello all. In between updating Phoenix and Bells, I got this little idea that I just had to write out. I had an idea for a new multi-chap, but I was going to settle on just a one-shot with a nifty cliffhanger. However, after writing in a fury and hitting the 10,000 word mark with much more left to tell, I decided to let the multi-chap have it's go. Like a lot of my works, there will be a bit of world crossing, but not in the way you might expect! Hope you enjoy and hang around for the rest!_

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Chapter One: Open the Rift

The air in the plush, fancy room had changed. The window had been open, a soft, summer breeze wafting through and cooling the room into a wistful, comfortable state. Now, the air was heavy, buzzing with static, as if lightning was waiting to strike. The vision of the window, a bay window that overlooked the Emerald City, was also changing. It was as if the window was distorting itself; everything because fuzzy and uneven, more like an impressionist painting than real life. The world started to swirl, the walls and the window and everything around it twisting and turning into one large circle, a spiral that went from the soft beige carpet to the top of the cathedral ceiling. It twisted around, spinning, a vortex opening up in the center of the room. It continued to swirl, the colors of the world melting into one another, turning into cloud-like formations. The spiral flashed, cracking like a bolt of lightning.

A hand tentatively reached forward, brushing the billowing fog with her long, slim fingers. As her hand entered the spiral, it parted. She swished her hand, parting the clouds even more. The swirling colors moved away from her touch, revealing not the window behind it, but something else entirely.

The swirling mass opened to reveal itself as a door, a door to somewhere far and foreign. Behind the colors and clouds was a city, gray and dark and formidable, it's rectangular buildings towering into the night sky. Rain was dripping softly, tapping across the pale fingers that had reached towards it. There was a road, with strange, loud contraptions flying across it, sending water off the road and into the air. A few people went by, walking fast and talking even faster, umbrellas and coats obscuring their faces even more in the dark. Despite it being nighttime and raining, the city was bustling and loud, the passersby seeming to not notice a small hole in their time continuum.

The hand reached back into its own world, and the twisting mass covered up the view into this other place. A female voice, small, high and light, chanted something odd and foreign, her pronunciation still a bit hesitant. A few words later, and the spiral shrunk in upon itself, eventually curling into a tiny ball and disappearing in a puff. The room, pink and fluffy, had returned into its natural state. The static in the air had disappeared, the dead silence of the place now being broken by a high-pitched shriek of delight.

Glinda Upland slammed the Grimmerie closed and hugged it to her chest, a large grin of joy and relief covering her youthful face.

"It worked!" she squealed to herself. "I finally got it to work! Now we can be free!"

Glinda dropped herself onto the bed, her legs like jelly after the anticipation and excitement. The blonde woman sighed, letting the happiness wash over her. The feeling of elation, of joy, and the act of smiling were nice to experience again. It had been so long since she had felt any of these feelings. She couldn't even remember the last time she wore a smile that wasn't forced, that wasn't painted on to hide the feelings of heartbreak and sadness that pervaded her entire being. The warmth insider her belly was something foreign, an emotion that belonged to a Glinda that didn't exist anymore, a Glinda that was spunky and full of life, ready to take on the world. That Glinda was dead and gone.

The blonde sat the book on the bed, catching her reflection in the large mirror that sat atop her ornately carved vanity. Vanity was something the blonde had been known for, a girl who posed more as a doll than a person. Glinda was still a doll. People came into her room and dressed her up, styling her hair and applying makeup ever so perfectly. Glinda was a not really a human but a thing, a thing to be polished and displayed for the people of Oz. She belonged to the Wizard and Madame Morrible, and she only existed to do their bidding. It was hard for most people to tell since she seemed to live the most amazingly charmed life, a life almost like that of a princess. If they looked below the surface, they would see that these frivolities were just masking the fact that Glinda the Good was a slave.

For a while, she had been a good little slave. She wore the dresses and spun about, giggling and smiling and making wonderful, positive speeches to the citizens of Oz. She was their emblem, their ray of hope and light in a world full of fear and danger. Glinda was the one to speak out against the Wicked Witch and her former fiancé. Glinda was the one to warn everyone that evil hid in the even the brightest of places. Glinda spun the web of lies and deceit that the people bought into wholeheartedly, even though each word that exited her lipstick-lined mouth added another crack into her own heart. She did everything she could, because she was made a promise.

She was promised that Fiyero would not be subjected to the tortures of the pole. She was promised that Elphaba would not be thrown into the pit of hell that was the Southstairs. She was promised that the Grimmerie would one day be hers, and that she would become the most powerful witch in Oz. She was promised that she would have the ability to do good and make things right.

This was all a lie, of course.

The Gale Force had brought Fiyero's body back to the center of Emerald City, still tied to the poles that became his coffin. They did not give him the dignity of a proper burial; instead, they propped the pole up in the courtyard of the palace, his bloody and beaten body a warning to all those who wanted to rebel. The image of her ex- fiance's body, beaten and tortured to the point of it almost being unrecognizable, in full view from her bedroom window would be something she would never in her life forget. She remembered the absolute agony that she felt when she saw him, the way her reality tossed and turned around her, how her entire world faded into black. The guards said that she had fainted, but she had sworn that her heart stopped and she had died. When she awoke and the truth of everything assaulted her senses, she knew at that point that her old world and her old self was no more. The innocent Glinda, the one bursting with hopeful optimism, died along with her former love.

The agony that she experienced could not have prepared her for the hours afterward, when an ear-shattering scream jolted her out of her fitful sleep that night. It had been past 3 AM, and the entire palace had finally gone still and quiet. Glinda had bolted up and raced towards her window to find a figure dressed in black standing in the courtyard next to the hanging body. It didn't take Glinda long to figure out who it was. The blonde threw on her nightgown and her shoes and launched herself down the spiral staircase as fast as her little legs could carry her. She had burst through the heavy wooden doors to the courtyard, her hair frazzled and her cerulean eyes still red and puffy from the tears that couldn't seem to stop flowing. It wasn't until her slippers left the sidewalk and hit the grass that the figure came fully into view. She was curled into a ball beneath the body of the Captain, her arms wrapped around her head, her hands reflecting their emerald tint under the lamplight. The sounds coming from her were absolutely horrific; it was a mix of hysterical sobbing and deep, guttural cries that broke what was remaining of Glinda's heart into pieces. She skidded to a stop, sliding slightly on the dew-covered grass, taking in the sight of the person she had been desperately hoping to see again, although now she wished she was hundreds of miles away.

"Elphie?"

The emerald hands slipping down over raven tresses, wrapping around the locks as if to ground herself back into reality. A slight head turn, and one chocolate eye came into focus. She quickly turned away again, her body curled in on itself so much that her head almost touched the ground.

"I failed." A croak of a voice flittered through the summer night.

"Elphie?" Glinda took a few more steps forward.

"I failed him."

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly, the witch shot up, bloodshot eyes locking with those of her former roommate. The years on the run had hardened her, her face sharp and gaunt, her body all bones and hard edges encased in black fabric. The last time Glinda had seen her, the first time she had seen her in many years, she had hugged her friend and remarked how thin she was and how she hadn't been caring for herself. It seemed that she still hadn't been doing so, even after Fiyero had left Glinda to be with her. Glinda had been angry with them at some point, feeling enormous betrayal. She had done her little slave part well, informing Morrible of Elphaba's love for her sister. That had been the beginning of the end, the first crack that would start to shatter the world.

That all seemed like a lifetime ago.

Elphaba looked at Glinda with an expression of both wild rage and pure sorrow. Glinda could feel her heart aching inside her chest, her eyes beginning to fog up.

"I was supposed to save him," said the green girl. "I used the book. I had a spell. I did everything right. I chanted it over and over and it was supposed to save him and it didn't work. I failed him and now he's gone and it's all my fault!"

Glinda found herself across the courtyard, kneeling in the wet grass next to her friend. The dampness soaked her legs and her dress, causing her to shiver slightly. She reached out, gently placing her hand on Elphaba's shoulder. She wasn't sure how she'd react, for she knew how her former roommate was not used to touch of any pleasant kind. Elphaba looked up at her, tears pooling in her deep brown eyes and leaving tracks down her cheeks. She gingerly reached up, placing her hand on top of Glinda's. Glinda attempted to smile at her, to reassure her, but seeing her brave and stoic friend cry only caused the tears to gather in her own eyes.

"You didn't fail him, Elphie," said Glinda, trying desperately to keep her voice steady. "He loved you. He loved you more than anything in the world. He had to protect you."

Elphaba shook her head. "I shouldn't have let him come with me. He told you he was leaving with me and I didn't put up a fight. I should've argued with him. I should have made him stay. If I did, then he'd still be with you and he'd still be alive."

"The Wizard already knew of his intentions. Even if he would have come back with me, he still would have sent the Gale Force after him."

"He should have let the Gale Force take me," said Elphaba softly. "If he would have let them take me, he'd be alive. It's my fault. It's all my fault, just by being there I damned him to this." She angrily gestured upward to the fallen man hoisted above where they both where kneeling on the ground.

Glinda took her friend's face in both hands. "Elphaba, stop. That's not true. He'd been searching for you for years. He was in love with you since we first came to this city. I was just someone there, a cover to help him move up in importance so that he could become Captain and find you. He made his choice long ago, before you or I ever realized he had made it."

Glinda, ignoring her own tears, brushed a stray drop off of her friend's cheek. "He loved you, Elphie. He loved you so much that he would do anything to keep you safe. He loved you."

"And he shouldn't have!" cried Elphaba. "He's dead because of me! Everyone who I care about dies!" Elphaba stared into her former roommates eyes, a look of hopelessness consuming her face. She immediately pushed Glinda's hands away from her face. "You have to go. You have to get away from me. Leave, go back into your palace and forget about me. I don't want anyone else I love suffering because of me."

Glinda wasn't running so easily. She returned her hands to her friend, this time setting them on her shoulders and shaking her slightly. "No. I'm not leaving you. I screwed up before. If this whole mess is anyone's fault, it's mine."

"But Glin-"

"Stop, it's true. My immaturity and bratty jealousy gave Morrible ammo against you. I stopped being a good friend, and I won't do it again. I'm sticking with you, whether you like it or not."

"They'll brand you a traitor, Glin. They'll throw you in the Southstairs. I couldn't live with myself if that happened."

"And how am I supposed to live with myself knowing I abandoned you?" snapped the blonde. "I won't leave you. I promise."

A loud slam interrupted the two girls, causing both of them to jump. Somehow, wrapped up deep in their conversation, they hadn't noticed the guard on night patrol, who had alerted the rest of the Gale Force of their presence. Neither witch had time to react before they found themselves surrounded, at least a dozen gun barrels aimed right for them.

Glinda turned around, rising up onto her haunches, using her body as a blockade between herself and Elphaba.

"Elphie, get your broom!" she hissed as quietly as she could. "I'll cover you. They won't hurt me. You have to get out of here!"

Glinda held out of her arms, making her little self seem as large as possible. Her eyes narrowed, giving each guard a stare of pure hatred. She crouched there, waiting, waiting for her friend to take off into the sky.

"Elphie, why aren't you going?" she asked desperately. "You have to get out of here."

Glinda felt a cold hand rest gently upon her back.

"Glinda, I can't. I can't go. Even if I wanted to go, they would shoot me out of the sky."

"No they won't. I'll protect you. I can do it."

The hand now gripped Glinda's shoulder, pulling her back fully onto the ground. She turned, meeting the green girls' gaze. Elphaba wrapped Glinda's hand in hers, her eyes full of sadness.

"It's time, Glin," she said, unsuccessfully hiding the sorrow in her voice. "I can't keep running like this. And now…with Fiyero gone…" She swallowed hard. "Now its' done. The terror of the Wicked Witch has ended."

Glinda stared at the green girl in shock. This was Elphaba, the strong, wild, formidable force that would not back down no matter what. This was the woman who chose the fight over an easy life, the life she had always dreamed of. What happened to Elphaba the fighter?

"I don't understand," said Glinda. "You can't just give up. You never give up."

Elphaba looked away from her former roommate, breaking eye contact.

"I…" Her voice cracked. "I can't do this anymore, Glin. I've caused so much damage. I can't…not without Nessa or Dr Dillamond or Fiy—" Elphaba choked on his name.

"You have me!" cried Glinda. "I'm here. You still have me."

"And that's why I have to let you go," replied Elphaba. "I can't pull you into this anymore. You have to go back to the palace and try to do the good that I couldn't do. It's up to you now, for both of us."

"No! No!" Glinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba, squeezing as tightly as she could. "I promised I wouldn't leave you," she sniffed. "I can't let them take you, I just can't!"

"You must, my love. " Glinda felt Elphaba rest her head on top of her own. "You need to be safe. My time is up."

Glinda found herself being yanked backwards, two guards gripping her arms and pulling her from her friends embrace. Elphaba stayed on the ground, unmoving, as the guards descended upon her. One of them turned his gun around, slamming the butt of it into her stomach. Another did the same, sending his sailing against the back of her head, knocking her onto the ground.

"NO! ELPHIE! NO!" Glinda screamed and screamed as she was dragged away, ignoring the guards' questions of if she was all right and if the witch had hurt her. She watched as the Gale Force attacked Elphaba, wrenching up from the ground so they could more easily hurl their fists at her body. Glinda watched her friend's beating helplessly. She struggled against the grip of the guards, but it was no use. She continued to scream until she was inside the palace and the doors were shut around her.

The next morning, Glinda was tied into a sparkly blue ballgown and paraded in front of the people of Oz, the people who were all so grateful that their beloved Glinda the Good was not harmed by the Wicked Witch. The Wizard, the puppetmaster, wrote Glinda a lovely speech about how scared she was and how relieved she now was that the witch had finally been captured. The tears she shed during the reading of this were perfectly timed, thoroughly convincing the citizens of her fear, but none other than her knew what those tears were really for. The Wizard had stepped in after her, wanting to make an extra special announcement himself. That afternoon, he announced that the execution of the Wicked Witch was scheduled, and the people would finally get to watch her burn in exactly one month's time. Glinda felt her stomach drop as a roar echoed through the courtyard, the people whooping and hollering and cheering, eventually all joining in a raucous chant of "BURN THE WITCH! BURN THE WITCH!" Glinda very gently excused herself to the restroom, where she collapsed onto the floor and vomited until her throat burned and her eyes burned and her tiara almost fell out of her meticulously quaffed hairdo. She lay on the bathroom floor, her head resting against the cold porcelain for a very long time until one of her maids found her. She was immediately taken back into her bedroom to be primped again, for there was a party that she needed to attend in celebration of the witch's execution date. The maids added more makeup to her under eyes and brought her water for her sore throat. As Glinda stared at herself in the mirror, mentally preparing herself to celebrate the imminent death of her best friend, she debated about out onto her balcony and throwing herself off. If she aimed just right, she would land right next to where Fiyero's body was displayed. It felt fitting.

Glinda didn't even get the opportunity to try and kill herself. She was hastily shoved out of the door, where a small company of Gale Force soldiers escorted her to the ballroom. As they walked towards the party, Glinda shoved the thoughts of killing herself out of her mind.

 _If I kill myself,_ she thought, _then there will be no one left who can help Elphie. I have to save her, and I only have thirty days to do it._

It was then that Glinda the Good made a decision. She had to save Elphie, and she could be a slave to these horrible people no longer. Either she was escaping with Elphaba, or she would die along with her.

As Glinda flittered around the ballroom, she used her acting abilities to the fullest extent. She pretended to indulge in meaningless conversation with the government officials and upper crest of the city, laughing and interjecting at just the right times, even though she wasn't listening to a damn thing they said. She was so sick of this falsity, of this façade that she put on to hid her breaking heart, but now she needed to. She had to hold onto it, to make everything think she was on their side.

Everything came crashing down when a green-skinned prisoner was brought into the center of the ballroom. Glinda's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and her wine glass went sailing onto the floor, shattering into tiny, razor-sharp pieces. The wait staff gathering around, quickly and efficiently cleaning up the mess as Glinda remained frozen.

"Don't worry, Lady Glinda," one of the Gale Force said to her. "I know it must frighten you to see her, but don't worry, she is far from being able to hurt you."

"Why…" Glinda stuttered. "Why is she here?"

Elphaba was thrown onto the floor, hitting the tiles with a dull thud and a soft moan. The guests had turned their focus to the green girl, gathering around her in a trepidatious but curious circle. She attempted to pull herself up as the Gale force gathered in their own circle around her.

The same soldier tried to pat Glinda's shoulder reassuringly, but she pulled away.

"You'll see, my lady. You won't have to fear her anymore."

One of guards wrapped his hand around the collar of her dress. With his other hand, he drew a knife from his pocket, and with a few choice motions, ripped a long line down the back of her dress to her hip. He yanked both sides apart, the sound of fabric ripping overriding the murmuring from the crowd, the emerald green of the skin of her back now exposed. Glinda could now really see how thin her friend was; her spine jutted out from her back, as if it was threatening to tear out of her skin. You could even see her ribs, pushing through as she curled around herself. The guests began to laugh, some shouting obscenities and jeers at her.

"Fight back…" whispered Glinda, wishing desperately that her friend would get up and blast them all to smithereens with her magic. "Please Elphie…Don't let them do this to you. Fight back. "

But the green witch did not fight back. She stayed where she was thrown, her raven hair cascading over her shoulders and tumbling onto the floor. She looked up for a brief moment, and even though the room was crowded full of people, she found the only sympathetic face in the entire crowd. She found Glinda's cerulean eyes, and Glinda saw something that she had never seen in her friend's face before: defeat. Her eyes were completely dead, as if the life had already drained out of her. She was broken, defeated, her spitfire temper all but fizzled out. Glinda could do no more than mouth her friend's name and try not to let the tears fall again.

Glinda heard a strange sound, almost like a slither, and then a resounding crack broke through the air, loud enough that it almost made Glinda's ears ring. One of the Gale Force soliders was standing behind Elphaba now, a long whip rippling from his hand and pooling at his feet. The guard was grinning, the ability to finally give the witch a taste of 'her' own medicine probably causing much jealousy among the others. The crowd watched intently, also grinning, practically salivating, the hunger for violence descending them from human to the demonic. Only the blonde was omitted from the spell, the horror digging itself deep inside her bones. How helpless she felt then, how incredibly useless standing there in her glitter and her gown and her tiara.

Glinda couldn't help but close her eyes when the first crack of the whip made contact with its victim. She jammed them shut, unable to bear witness to this atrocity in front of her. The crowd had grown silent, watching, waiting for the wicked witch to break. The whip continued to crack, but no sound emerged from the green woman. Glinda opened her eyes slightly, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of all of the blood splashed across the ground, the deep lacerations marring the emerald skin of her best friend. The whip came down again, and the blonde could barely force the air in and out of her lungs. She forced herself to watch, to watch the jagged line of crimson appear between Elphaba's shoulder blades, the witch biting down on her lip to keep herself from making sound. Glinda was thankful that despite the deadness in her eyes, there was still part of the stubborn girl still left inside of her.

Another hit, and the crowd finally got what they wanted. The green girl's arms buckled from underneath her, a whimper emerging from her throat. The guard heard it, his vicious smile growing, sending another lightning bolt across her back. This one received a groan in reply, which only fueled the fire of his rage. He swung back even harder, lashing with all of his might, sending splatters of blood into the air. This time, he finally got the scream he was looking for. The guests began to applaud, some of them raising them glasses towards the guard with the whip. Glinda brought both hands to her face, trying to cover the hot tears that she could no longer hold back. She spasmed, her body wanted her to vomit. She kept one hand on her face and wrapped the other one around her stomach, trying to hold back the retching and the trembling that had taken her over. For the second time that night, chocolate brown eyes met sapphire ones.

 _I'm sorry_ , Glinda mouthed to her best friend. _I'm sorry. I love you. I'm so sorry._

The whip raised up again, and Glinda suddenly felt like she was falling. She didn't see it hit its target, for her entire world became encased in blackness.

After the party, she had woken up in her bed, now in her nightgown. Her maids had told her that she had fainted during the party, and they had promptly returned her to bed. Everyone had felt bad for the poor blonde, even pitied her. They believed that she was still terrified and weak from her 'ordeal' with the witch the night before. After pestering every guard that she could find, Glinda found out that Elphaba had been beaten until she had gone unconscious, and then unceremoniously and uncaringly thrown back into her cell in the Southstairs.

Don't worry, they all said to comfort Glinda. Morrible is keeping an eye on her. She won't let her bleed out or get an infection. She will definitely be alive for her execution date.

Glinda found that the opposite of comforting.

The blonde had to do something to make sure that she was in the loop of knowledge. Morrible and the Wizard preferred her to be in the dark. When asked about Elphaba, they would change their tones, speaking to her as if she was a child, giving her a few vague ideas and then sending her along her way. This did nothing other than piss the little blonde off, so she had to find another way. She kept an eye on the guards, noting which guards patrolled the Southstairs. She started chatting them up during the day, turning on her actress abilities to reel them in. She found it easy enough to charm them, using the right bat of an eyelash or a subtle curve in her walk. It didn't take too long before she got enough information to map out the entire patrol schedule for the week. She would laugh to herself at how pathetic these men were, at how easily they would bend at the will of a pretty girl.

After asking the right questions, Glinda discovered that there was a small time frame during the night when the men would switch shifts and nobody would be guarding the prisoners. It wasn't a lot of time, about half an hour, but it was enough to get herself down there.

 _I have to see Elphie. I don't want her to think I abandoned her._

Turns out, sneaking into the Southstairs was harder than she thought it would be. Yes, she had a thirty minute window where no guard was down there, but because they were switching shifts, there were lots of guards in the hallways and around the entrance. This really surprised Glinda, seeing how that thirty minute window was between 3:30 and 4 in the morning. She had made her way down to the main door to the dungeon when she encountered at least seven or eight Gale Force soldiers roaming around and talking rather cheerfully for it being so late (or early, depending). Glinda ended up ducking under a table and hiding there for over an hour until they left. She tried every night after that, but kept encountering the same issue.

After trying and failing to get into Southstairs for a week, the lack of sleep and stress started taking its toll. Glinda had to add extra makeup to make herself look awake, and she struggled to pay attention during her meetings. Morrible had finally trusted her enough to start teaching her magic from the Grimmerie, and she was getting rather frustrated. One day, Glinda actually fell asleep sitting up during her magic lessons, and Morrible got so angry with her that she stomped out of the room and told the blonde to get some sleep and come back tomorrow. Glinda, irritated, packed up her things and went back to her room. It wasn't until she dumped her satchel out on her bed that she noticed that she had accidentally taken the Grimmerie with her.

Then, she got an idea.

Glinda flew through the book, searching for one particular spell. She needed a way to get by without being seen by the guards. She flipped through the massive book, which seemed to add more pages every time she turned it, and landed on a spell that was not what she intended, but what she needed. She was looking for a teleportation spell, or a spell to make the guards all fall asleep. Instead, she found one for invisibility. Glinda ran to her desk, grabbing a pen and a piece of parchment. She hastily scrawled the spell and its instructions down onto the parchment, folded it up, and hid it underneath her mattress. She closed the book and headed downstairs, knocking on Morrible's office and innocently handing the book back to the old woman. The old woman had flipped through the book and, seeing nothing was amiss, gave an approving nod to the blonde before closing the door. Glinda had now accomplished two goals; Morrible trusted her, and she now had a spell to help her see Elphaba.

Glinda had wanted to give herself more time to perfect the spell, but she found that time was not on her side. During her daily rounds of chatting with the Gale Force, one of the guards gleefully told her of something new. He told her that the wicked witch had started to backtalk the guards, so they found a new way to punish her. Her told her about how they took metal rods and held them over their torches until they turned bright orange. He described in sickening detail about how they chained the green girl to the wall and pressed the hot metal into the skin on her arms and legs, and how the entire chamber would fill with the sound of sizzling skin and her screaming. He laughed while telling this to Glinda, which made the blonde have to use all of her willpower to nod along and not punch him in the throat. Once he returned to his duties, she ran back to her room as fast as possible, and after trying to calm her nervous stomach and racing heart, she started working on the spell.

She dug into the parchment, deciding that she would not sleep until she nailed it. At first, she stumbled through the pronunciation, causing a variety of results. If she messed up a lot, nothing would happen. If she messed up partially, only some of her body would go invisible, scaring the living daylights out of her. She almost gave herself a heart attack after hours of practicing, when she made everything invisible but her head. She did manage to scare the pants off of one of her nosy maids, which made the error absolutely worth it.

Finally, just after the clock struck 3 AM, Glinda stood in front of the mirror and realized that she had no reflection. She looked down, and while she could feel her hands opening and closing, she could not see them. She could not see any part of her. She did a little happy dance and fist pumped the air. She wasn't sure if she was that happy or just delirious from lack of sleep, but she decided it didn't matter. She figured it out, and it was almost time for the guard change. According to the spell, the invisibility would only last about an hour, and that's if she got the entire thing correct. Not wanting to waste any time, the blonde launched herself out of her quarters and headed towards the Southstairs.


	2. Chapter 2: Fear, Failure, and Fury

Chapter 2: Fear, Failure, and Fury

Glinda felt herself shudder. She grabbed the Grimmerie off of the bed and held it tightly to her chest, feeling her heart beating against its heavy, worn cover. She had tried her best to suppress the memory from that night many weeks ago, when she had turned herself invisible and bolted into the dungeons like a bat out of hell. She had felt so incredibly accomplished that night, thinking the little invisibility spell was the best she could ever do.

 _I had no idea,_ she thought. _I had no idea what was going on, or what I was really capable of. Yet again, Glinda the naïve found herself getting smacked in the face with the grim reality of it all._

She absentmindedly traced over the worn edges of the book, her pink-lacquered fingers running up and down the cracking spine. The memory was starting to take hold of her, sending her back to a time and place she didn't want to remember. She hated thinking about it, because it reminded her of how she was so weak and so very, incredibly stupid.

 _Silly child, you thought you could waltz down there and save her_ , the blonde thought to herself spitefully _. You really thought that a silly little invisibility spell was all you needed. You were so damned proud of yourself, too. You copied a spell and now you were going to sneak into Southstairs! How rebellious of you! Too bad it didn't work out for you because you didn't think it through. Foolish Glinda. You had no idea._

Glinda's brow furrowed, glaring into the spot in front of the window where the spiral had just disappeared.

 _This is why you have a plan now. Just hope that you aren't too late this time._

* * *

It had been easy. In fact, it had been way too easy. The crowd around the stairs was smaller than normal, the men too chattery and distracted to pay attention to things they could see, let alone things they couldn't. Many of them were not dressed properly; their uniforms were wrinkled, their hats off, belts unbuckeled and shirts not tucked. Glinda should have known something was up, but she was too high on adrenaline and her small spurt of success to process any form of doubt. She was too driven, too focused on the goal, and, like a horse with blinders, she could only see what was in front of her and not the entire picture.

She slipped by the guards with ease, descending down the stone staircase into the darkness of the Southstairs below. Glinda stepped quietly, for despite her invisibility, she was able to hear herself and wasn't sure if others could hear her. She walked along the winding hallway, using the voices of the other guards as a guide. The Southstairs burrowed deep underneath the Emerald City, and was notorious for being hard to navigate. Glinda had only been down there once, when she got her official tour of the palace after becoming Glinda the Good, but she remembered enough to get herself to where the most dangerous people were kept. That was the only part of the prison where she had not been allowed to see, and therefore was the part that she absolutely had to go to. She continued her journey downwards, figuring that she was going farther underground by how a chill had sunk into her skin. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her, silently cursing herself for not wearing more than a cloak over her nightgown. She was invisible, so she really didn't think about it at the time. Glinda decided to move faster, the proverbial hourglass constantly in her thoughts, reminding her that she did not have much time. She needed to get to Elphaba and get out before 4 AM, or she would become visible again.

Glinda, at that moment, realized that she did not have a plan.

She kept her feet moving, but now her mind was racing even faster than her feet. In her haste to get to the Southstairs, she had no spell books, no weapons, no nothing. It was just her and her invisibility. She ended up halting in her tracks when the full weight of everything hit her.

 _How do I get her out? How in the world am I supposed to free her? How? Glin, did you even think about this at all?_

The obvious answer was: No.

Glinda's thoughts were now flying rapidly through her mind.

 _How do I get into her cell? Do I find a guard and steal the key? How do I know which guards have the keys? And if I can even get into her cell, can I make her invisible? I don't know if I have the spell memorized or not….or if it works on other people. Or…oh no, what if she's hurt? I'd have to carry her the entire way back and…Oh sweet Oz, Glinda, what have you got yourself into?_

Glinda's blast of adrenaline had now been replaced by pure panic. She found a partition in the walls, a place that was dark and just big enough for her little body to fit. She slipped in this empty space, her back sliding down the wall until she hit the ground with a short thump. The blonde pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them, rocking back and forth slightly. It was kind of funny that she was hiding even though she was currently invisible, but the small, dark place made her feel just a bit safer.

 _I'm no hero, she thought, resting her head on top of her knees. I don't know what I was thinking. I just…I have to get to Elphie. I have to help her. I promised her that I'd never leave her, and I have to keep my promise._

A sudden thunk of boots on stairs caused Glinda to startle, smacking her head off of the stone behind her. She let out a short growl of pain, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. Two Gale Force soldiers descended the stairs, their boisterous conversation bouncing off of the stone walls and echoing down into the darkness below.

"Did you get to the witch yet?" One of the male voices asked.

"Not yet, but that's where I'm headed now!" said another male voice with a laugh. "I have to tell you, it's been a while. I'm damn excited."

Glinda sat up straighter. She got a feeling, a peculiar feeling that was squirming inside her gut. Her intuition was telling her something, and it was not something good.

"You're off shift, right? Horrible Morrible says we're not allowed to visit with the whore if we're on patrol."

"I don't start for another half an hour. I have time."

The first voice chuckled. "Yeah, I highly doubt you'll last more than five minutes"

The two guards were in Glinda's line of vision. She couldn't make out who they were exactly, but they were both younger, and the voices seemed a bit familiar. They might have been those she had been working on befriending.

"Hey now!" The second guard shoved the first one, but laughed along with him. "I doubt you hung around that long."

"No way, this place gives me the creeps."

"So, is it true?" The second's guard's question faded as the two continued down the hall. The rest of his question was fainter, but audible, and it caused Glinda's heart to skip a beat.

"Is it true that she really is green all over?"

Glinda swore at that moment that she forgot how to breathe.

 _Oh Oz no…_

Glinda flung herself out of her hiding spot, searching wildly for any more signs of the guards that passed her by. She could only hear a few faint noises echoing from the hall in front of her. She leaned against the wall, her heat beat threatening to crack her ribcage, her thoughts swirling in one big, jumbled mess.

 _No no no no Oh Oz no please let it not be true please let them be lying Oh Oz Elphie no….._

Glinda took off down the hall, not caring at how loud her feet tapped against the cold, gray floor. She didn't bother being quiet. Anyone close enough could have probably heard her loud, raspy breathing anyways. She heard a few more voices and broke into a run, flying down the hallway as fast as her legs could carry her. She had to get to Elphaba. She had to get to her _now_.

The hall ended with a sharp turn, jutting off to the left. The path had continuously sloped downwards, so Glinda ended up sliding and almost crashing into the wall. She wobbled, steadying herself immediately as she found herself face to face with the two soldiers that had walked past her just a short time ago. They were leaning against one side of the hallway, still chatting amongst themselves. A creaking sound appeared, and a barred door swung open. Another guard emerged, tucking his shirt back into his pants. A chill ran over Glinda's body, her feet feeling as though they were cemented to the spot. The absolute terror took her over, leaving her completely frozen. She clutched her chest, trying desperately to calm the thudding beneath her ribs and get herself together.

The guard that had just left the cell finished tucking in his shirt and tossed the keys to the taller of the two guards waiting.

"Everyone keeps telling me she's a fighter." The guard flipped the keys in his hands. "One of the earlier patrols tried to dole out one of the fish's punishments and she punched him in the face hard enough to snap his nose."

Glinda snorted.

 _Good._

The first guard shook his head. "Nah, not anymore. I think we've finally tamed the wild green beast."

Glinda felt her heart sink.

 _It's not true, it can't be, it just can't be…_

The guard with the keys walked towards the cell door, the other two giving him a short wave before leaving. They both walked right past Glinda, her invisibility still in full working condition. While her spell worked, her legs were having trouble working. Glinda felt many sensations at once: fear, nerves, shaking, heat racing, dizziness, the urge to vomit. She didn't know what to do.

The Gale Force soldier opened the cell door and stepped inside.

That's when Glinda heard the voice.

"Please…no…" It was soft, pleading, cracking with pain. "No more…please…"

The guard replied with a sharp laugh, as if her pain amused him.

Glinda lifting a leg, forcing herself to take a step forward. She felt like each leg weighed a thousand pounds, like she was trying to run through waist-deep mud. Her knees buckled, causing her wobble and use the wall to steady herself. She tried to push herself back up, but she felt all of the blood drain from her head.

 _Come on Glin, get up. Let's go. You have to do something, Glin. DO SOMETHING._

That's when Glinda heard the scream. It was high piercing, but it was also rough and hoarse, as if the voice was starting to become lost.

As if she had been screaming for hours.

Glinda was supposed to go forward, towards her friend. That is what she was supposed to do. That was what a strong person does, what a hero does. They run towards danger, towards their fears, and not away from it. But Glinda, finally able to steady herself and get her feet moving again, took off in the opposite direction. Tears streamed down her face as she ran, trying to get as far away from the heart-shattering sound as possible. She ran and she ran, her chest heaving from the exertion and the sobs that were starting to erupt. She turned a corner and slipped, falling into the heap onto the stone below. The wind partially knocked out of her, she refused to get up. Instead, she curled herself into a fetal position and let the sobs break free, creating a new sound of pain and suffering to fill the dark, damp halls of death.

She didn't know how long she lay on the cold floor, sobbing with every force inside of her, until she found herself itchy-eyed and exhausted. She sat up, dizzy and headachy from the emotion and the effort. She crawled up onto her hands and knees, still shaky as she stood up. She was right in front of the entrance, and she was very lucky, for her body was starting to return to its normal opacity. By the time she found herself back in her room, the spell had fully worn off, bringing Glinda back to her regular state. Her maid walked in, attempting to be cheery, but Glinda sent her off in a huff, claiming to have the stomach flu and requesting to be left alone for the rest of the day. The maid still hung around until the blonde, after hearing the vile words from the guards flash through her head again, ran to the bathroom and vomited. Glinda spent the rest of the day that way, alternating between removing the contents of her stomach and dripping every remaining tear left inside her body onto her lace-lined pillow.

 _I'm a failure, she thought helplessly. I'm a stupid, foolish, careless, useless failure. I'm sorry, Elphie. I was supposed to do better. I was supposed to be there for you, and I failed. I'm so sorry._

* * *

Glinda tapped the cover of her book, her long nails making a distinct sound against the leather binding. The memory had finally loosened its grip on the blonde, returning her to her present reality. She took a deep breath in and then exhaled loudly, as if she was pushing the thoughts out of her body.

"I won't fail again," she said aloud. "I have a plan now, and it's going to work."

After that day in the Southstairs, Glinda had thrown herself head first into her magical studies with Morrible. It was hard to concentrate with the absolutely seething hatred stirring inside the blonde every time she looked at the old fish, but she used her usual tricks to hide it. The only way she was going to get back there was through a spell, but she needed something more intense, something that would give her more leverage in case she got caught. Morrible, though more trusting of Glinda, must have sensed something, for she never let the book out of her sight and was very careful with what Glinda was allowed to practice. The better she got at magic, the more frustrated she became. Every day was a chance for more tortures to be inflicted upon her friend, and here she was, sitting in front of the very thing that could save her and she couldn't use it.

One day, a very bold guard made an inappropriate comment about her former roommate in the blonde's presence, and she had absolutely lost her mind. She snapped, cursing him out with every god from every religion she knew of. She stormed off, red faced and furious, locking herself in her room in order to punch the crap out of her bedroom walls. It wasn't until later at a routine meeting, when Glinda noticed the subtle looks given between the Wizard and Morrible and the unusual silence between the three of them, that she realized she probably made a mistake. Her sudden outburst could have possibly given her away.

Glinda decided that this was the moment to act.

That evening, right as Glinda was leaving Morrible's quarters, fate intervened. The old fish was called upon by the Wizard who needed her "right this very second", and she took off without as much as a goodbye to her young pupil. Glinda knew this was it, this was her opportunity, and she would never get another one like this again. She grabbed the Grimmerie, stuffed it into her satchel, and bolted up to her room. She locked every door to her quarters, including the bedroom one, and used all of her little might to shove her dresser in front of the door. She didn't need anyone coming in or giving her any interruptions. Glinda sat down on her bed, her hands trembling as she furiously flipped through the pages of the book, trying to find something. She got about half way through before she realized that maybe, instead of looking for one spell to do everything, that maybe she should use multiple. She already had a way to get into the Southstairs, a way that had already been proven successful. She just needed another spell, another thing to use once she got herself down there.

As if fate were speaking to her yet again, a gust of wind entered through the crack that was still left open in her bedroom window, rustling the pages of the book. When the wind stopped and the paper went still, a very strange and ancient-looking spell was left staring up at Glinda. She leaned over, curious, trying to decipher what it meant. It took her a few moments to translate it.

 **Create a portal to another world.**

The spell, when done correctly, could open up a portal that could take you to an entirely different world. When Glinda read this, she felt a spark inside her, like a light that had just been turned on.

 _This is it. This is how I'll do it. Elphie said that she would never be free in Oz, so that means that we just have to leave Oz. It makes complete sense._

Glinda, learning from her previous mistakes, put a plan together.

1\. Use the invisibility spell to get down into the Southstairs between 3:30 and 4.

2\. Use a fire spell to melt the lock on the door, or steal a key from a guard, whichever is easiest.

3\. Open up the portal and get us out of Oz for good.

The invisibility spell only took two tries for Glinda to remember. The fire spell was something she had been working on with Morrible, so that was simple enough to work with. She loved watching the flames rise from her palm and flicker painless across her fingertips. She had been itching to use it for some time, but Morrible had forbid her from performing the spell outside of their lessons. Glinda the Good had listened, but Glinda the Rebel was throwing all of the rules out the window. Nothing mattered to her now other than rescuing her best friend.

The portal spell was nothing like she had ever encountered before. It was full of strange lettering, a language more difficult to muddle through than the usual spells in the book. She had to pull out her reference manual and painstakingly go through each word one symbol at a time, translating and notating the correct pronunciation. Glinda should have been tired, and in fact, she probably was tired, but she didn't even feel it. She had never been the studious type, and during her time at Shiz often dozed off while supposedly studying, but now it was as if all of the gears in her brain were finally turning at the same time. By the time she had finished mapping out the spell, the sky had turned dark aside from the small crack of light coming from a sliver of moon.

It took her four hours and twenty-seven minutes, but finally, just as she was close to giving up, the swirling clouds had appeared, the vortex consuming a large part of her bedroom. When she removed her hand from it, the raindrops were still glistening on her skin. She didn't know much about this world, using only the book for guidance. It said that the portal opened only to one world, and to the same world every time. A few notes, scrawled on the edges in blue ink, stated that the people in this world looked like the people of Oz and shared the same common tongue, making communication easy. The note also warned that getting into that world was a lot easier than getting back out of it. That part didn't phase Glinda; in fact, it calmed her. She had no intention of ever coming back to Oz if she could help it.

She flipped the page, and another handwritten note caught her eye. While it was on the page of a different spell, it had an arrow next to it, as if there was no room on the previous page for it. Glinda squinted, doing her best to read the teeny tiny cursive.

"The people in this world use large, traveling crafts similar to the Wizard's hot air balloon. There is a possibility that this portal takes you to his world."

Glinda's eyes widened, and she read the note over and over until she could close her eyes and see the loops of the writing in her brain.

 _The Wizard's world. It could be the Wizard's world. How incredible. Elphie is half from that world anyways, so it would only be fitting if we ended up there. I wonder if it's true or not…_

Glinda took a deep breath, and with one fluid motion, she tore the page right out of the book. She rolled the page up, stuffing it down her bra since her dress did not have pockets. She grabbed her cloak, flipping it over her shoulders and buckling it in the base of her neck. She took one final look at herself in the mirror, realizing that the woman staring back at her almost looked like a stranger. Her blue eyes seemed dull, lacking the sparkle that she had been known for. Dark circles hung underneath her eyes, and she swore she saw some wrinkling around their corners. She had no lines around her mouth, and sadly noted that it was probably because she had not smiled genuinely in such a long time. She looked older, more like the twenty-four year old woman she was and less like the baby-faced Shiz student that she always pictured herself as. She was worn, weary, haunted by her acting as a chess piece and her knowledge of the pain and heartbreak the world had thrown at her. She crossed her arms, a determined expression crossing her face. She was surprised to see that this Glinda didn't look like a little girl having a tantrum, but looked like a strong, powerful woman on a mission. She nodded to herself and began chanting, watching as her body slowly faded away. When the last golden curl had vanished, she pushed the blockade from her door, took a deep breath, and headed out the door.


	3. Chapter 3: Follow Me Down

Chapter 3: Follow Me Down

Glinda ran, faster than she had ever ran in her entire life. She used her invisibility to her advantage, not caring if she bumped into or practically ran over the castle staff that constantly seemed to be in her way. She gave the guards at the Southstairs entrance a good shove (more for revenge and less for practicality), and her feet found the same path they did before. This time, she didn't care that she could hear her feet echoing through the Southstairs. The chill still sank into her skin, but at the moment, Glinda could feel nothing. She didn't have a care for the sounds or the chill or anything around her. All she cared about was that she was going to free Elphaba.

Once she hit the bottom of the stairs, just about at the same spot where she frozen in fear the last time, and took a second to catch her breath. She reached into her dress to make sure the spell was still there. She pulled the paper into her hands and gently unfolded it, but then jumped as she felt an electric current zap her right hand. She dropped the spell to the ground and shook her hand, cursing at whatever just happened. She only stopped cursing when she noticed that the torn page was moving. It wriggled around, uncurling itself and straightening out the folds from where Glinda had crumpled it in her hand. Once it looked like new, the Grimmerie itself materialized around it, adding the page back into its proper spot before closing with a loud thud.

Glinda stood still, wide eyed and perplexed.

 _But….but I left the book up there on purpose. I didn't want to take the entire thing with me._

The book wiggled, rotating slightly so that it seemed to be facing Glinda.

 _Well….._ Glinda reached down, picking up the book in hands that were now starting to tremble. _The book thinks I need the rest of it. This means that there are more ways to get Elphie out!….or it could mean that something very bad is going to happen and I might need something in it…_

Glinda shook her head, erasing the negative thoughts that had started to flood her mind.

 _Stop it, stop it. You have the ability. You've practiced this over and over. You now have the most powerful spell book in all of Oz. There is nothing stopping you from saving Elphaba. Get it together and get going._

Glinda stood, facing the same hallway that she had been too afraid to travel down the last time. Instead of fear, Glinda was overwhelmed with a wild rush of anger and adrenaline. That night had played over and over in her head, both in waking times and in her nightmares. In her nightmares, she was aware of all of her senses, and she would get to this point in the hallway and try to run down, but her feet would sink deep into the ground. Identical uniformed men would walk past her, not noticing, going into Elphaba's cell one and a time, followed by horrific, ear-piercing screams. Glinda would try harder and harder to free herself, but the more she struggled, the more she sank into the ground. She would struggle until the Southstairs sucked her underneath, seeing nothing but darkness but still being able to hear her friend's screams of pain. She would then wake up crying, covered in a cold sweat.

Glinda brushed a stray blonde curl from her face and gripped the book against her. That was not going to happen this time. She would succeed.

Glinda shot through the hallway until she came to where she saw the soldiers standing the first time. She turned, looking into the barred doorway of the cell in front of her. She tilted her head, trying to decipher the cell in the dim torchlight. She saw what looked to be a dirty mattress on the ground and a bowl, but nothing else other than shadow. She exhaled in a sharp huff, frustrated. They must have moved her.

She turned, almost ready to look somewhere else, when the faintest of sounds caught her ear. It was barely audible, but it sounded like the shuffle of movement across the floor. Glinda turned back and took a step towards the cell door. She stepped closer and closer until her face was pressed up between in the bars. She noticed a dark lump on the ground, something that could almost be mistaken for part of the shadows. She waited on baited breath, listening. She heard the sound again, and the lump moved. It wasn't until she saw the small flash of an emerald green hand that she finally realized what it was.

"Elphie!"

The green hand froze in midair, and the lump shifted again.

"Elphie!" Glinda called into the darkness. "Elphie, it's me! It's Glinda! I've come for you!"

"Glin?" A quiet, raspy voice emerged from the darkness. Another shift and a pool of black cascaded sideways from the shadow, revealing a green cheek and a brown eye to the torchlight.

"Yes, it's me!" Glinda smiled, relieved. Her Elphie was alive. Glinda closed her eyes for a moment and muttered the spell; within a few seconds, she was fully visible again.

"It's me, it's Glinda. I've been trying to get down here for weeks. I kept getting caught. Morrible has me trapped upstairs. But I figured out how to be invisbiel. I'm here, and now we can go!"

"Go?" Elphaba pulled herself upright as best she could but stopped halfway, hissing in pain. "Go where?"

"Out of here!" exclaimed Glinda. "I found a spell that will take us somewhere else. I don't know where it is exactly, but I've seen it. I've felt it. It's a big city, but it's not here. It might not even be in Oz, which is actually better. I've been studying so hard, Elphie. You'd be so proud. I can make fire just like you used to do in our dorm, I can make myself invisible, and now I've found a way to get us somewhere safe. We can be free!"

"Free?" Elphaba let out a short cackle, and then caught herself, coughing. "You think that I can just walk out of here?"

"Well no, silly," said Glinda, a nervous laugh permeating her voice. "I'll have to break you out and conjure the portal. Then we can go."

Elphaba was still leaning forward, both hands placed upon the ground. She took a breath, and then finally pushed herself up into a sitting position, a whimper escaping her throat. Glinda's face fell. Something was not right.

"Elphie…"

Elphaba slid over to the right, the torchlight bathing over her and putting her entire self into Glinda's line of vision. Glinda gasped and pulled her hands to her mouth in horror, almost dropping the Grimmerie to the ground. Elphaba had always been thin, but now she was gaunt, emerald skin pulled taut over bone. Her left eye was swollen almost completely shut, with bruises marring the skin along her nose and jaw. Her black dress was in tatters, covering barely anything and giving her no modesty. It revealed a host of injuries in varied healing stages, purple bruises and pink marks and bright red slashes covering the emerald. She stared directly into Glinda's eyes with a haunted look, the spark that made her infamous now shut out and dead. There was nothing in her eyes but pure pain.

Glinda felt the tears form almost immediately, escaping down her porcelain cheeks before she even had the chance to react. A sob caught in her chest, threatening to push its way out. She held her breath, trying to keep herself together.

"I'm going to get you out of here," she said, her words choking in her throat. "I'm going to save you."

"You can't save me," said Elphaba flatly. "There's nothing left of me to save."

"Of course there is," replied Glinda. "You're here and you're alive and I'm here and I'm going to get you out."

"There's no point, Glinda," said Elphaba, her eyes flickering to the floor. "They've broken me, destroyed me. I'm nothing now."

Glinda desperately clutched the book. "That's not true, Elphie. It's simply not true."

Elphaba's head whipped up, her face now consumed with fire.

"It is Glinda," she spat. "Everything I had has been taken. My father, my sister, my love, my cause, my freedom…even my body is something that can be taken. It's all gone. I have nothing left."

Glinda sniffed, her heart crushing with sorrow inside her chest.

"But…you have me. You've always had me."

Glina gasped, gagging, the sob finally breaking through. She folded over, her chest heaving and the sobs she had been trying to keep releasing themselves in a fury.

"I tried Elphie…I came back for you," she said between her cries. "I did everything I could. I spied. I flirted with guards and I let them say horrible things about you while I smiled and nodded so I could find out if you were alive and when you were left alone. I got all the way down here last time, but there were so many guards and I heard everything and I got so scared…but please don't think I abandoned you. I didn't leave you, I promise. I tried. I tried. "

Elphaba's face softened. "Glin…"

Glinda stood up and sniffed, quickly wiping her face on her sleeve.

"But I'm here now. I have the Grimmerie, and I have a spell that will get us out of Oz for good. I'm taking you with me."

Elphaba suddenly looked very sad. "Glin…I…I can't. There's no use."

Glinda angrily stomped her foot. "Elphaba Thropp, you stubborn fool, I am rescuing you and that's final!"

Something that looked like a smile crossed Elphaba's face. "You're still the same Glinda I remember. But I'm not the Elphaba you knew. She's gone. You don't want…this."

"Of course I do! Elphie you… you can't just give up now. I'm here!"

"It doesn't matter!" Elphaba snapped. She froze for a moment and then placed her own hand over her mouth, her chest heaving through the shreds of her dress. "Don't you understand, Glinda? There's nothing left of me!" Glinda could barely breath as she watched the silvery cascades begin to trail down Elphaba's battered face. "Do you have any idea what's happened to me? Every part of me has been beaten and bruised and destroyed. I'm nothing, just a body to be hurt or to be…used." She choked on the final word, Glinda's tears turning silent as the green girl's sobs took over. "I can't do this anymore, Glin. I can't keep living in this sea of pain and torment." Elphaba looked at Glinda, bloodshot brown eyes meeting sapphire. "Go, Glinda. Go through your portal. Get out of Oz, and take that cursed book with you. You've always deserved more than this. You are too good and too kind for this wretched place. Go and be free. Just…."

She paused and took a breath.

"Just don't forget me, please."

A clang broke through the air, bouncing off the walls and trailing down the hallway. Glinda felt her magic spark inside her, and she was suddenly filled with resolve. She dropped down and placed the book on the ground, furiously flipping until she found the right page.

"There's no time. I'm conjuring this portal right now." She found Elphaba's face again, her stern expression boring into her friend. "You may think there is nothing left of you but I still see the same woman who I have cared for and loved since Shiz. I'm taking you with me."

The clanging grew louder, now accompanied by footsteps and shouts. The Gale Force was coming. Glinda put both hands down on the page and, just like before, carefully and eloquently chanted the spell upon it. Just when she thought the Gale Force was going to be right upon them, the wall behind her began to swirl and spiral until it seemed that the brick was melting into a counterclockwise spinning circle. Elphaba's eyes widened.

"Sweet Oz, Glin, you're incredible."

Glinda beamed, and for one short moment was proud of herself.

"Now, let's get this lock."

She had barely raised her hands to the lock when the Gale Force was suddenly visible.

"There she is! Glinda the Good has betrayed us! She's stolen the Grimmerie and is freeing the witch!"

The vortex swirled even faster, the center starting to pull towards the edges, revealing a night sky. Glinda grabbed the lock in panic and began shaking it, too scared and wild to even attempt the spell.

"I won't leave you, Elphie!" she cried, rattling the handle as hard as she could. "I won't leave you here to die!"

Somehow, despite her injuries, Elphaba was on her feet. She stood on the other side of the bars, mere inches from her friend. She reached out, placing her hand on top of Glinda's trembling one.

"Take the book and go," Elphaba said calmly. "If Morrible doesn't have the Grimmerie, she'll lose control over the Wizard and Oz. You'll help everyone, Glin. You'll help free Oz, and you'll be free. You can do all of the good that I was never able to."

Glinda shuddered, the soldier's coming closer by the second. "But I can't leave you."

An emerald hand reached through the bars and gently caressed Glinda's cheek.

"Take the book. Help Oz. Be free. There is nothing I want more than for you to be free, Glinda."

The soldiers were now almost upon Glinda. Elphaba removed her hand from Glinda's face.

"RUN GLINDA!" she shouted. "TAKE THE GRIMMERIE AND RUN! GO!"

Glinda grabbed the book from the ground. The portal had opened even more. It was no longer raining in that world, but it was nighttime. Street lamps illuminated the sidewalk, a few birds flittering by as the wind gently brushed a few bushes.

Out of nowhere Glinda stumbled, feeling as though something was grabbing onto her. The swirling cloud from the vortex had reached out, wrapping itself around her. It was pulling her in, whether she liked it or not.

"ELPHIE!"

"I told you, Glin. You need to be free from this hell. You don't deserve to suffer like I did."

"Elphie, I won't go without you!"

Elphaba was not afraid, or sad, but was smiling at her.

"I love you, Glin."

Glinda was yanked her backwards into the vortex. She felt the wind touching her back as the prison began to blur. The guards were there now, trying to grab at her, but they couldn't reach.

"I love you Elphie. More than anything."

* * *

When Glinda's vision cleared, she found herself on the same sidewalk that she had been viewing from the other side. She spun around, looking for the portal, but it had closed itself up. She was in this world fully now. She turned her head, taking in the all of the surroundings. She was on the sidewalk with the bushes that she saw many times, but she hadn't realized it was in the very middle of a city. Towering buildings stretched into the sky around her, dark gray and rectangular and formidable. Some of the buildings were covered in flashing lights and signs in a language was familiar yet hard to understand. There was a road in front of her, and she was stunned by the strange metal vehicles that were flying past her. They were almost like train cars, but much, much smaller and they seemed to move at their own accord. They moved too fast for her to focus on, but she believed that they contained only one or two people in each. There was a building to her left with a marquee, lit up with yellow bulbs. She assumed it to be a theatre, because it reminded her so much of the theatres back home. Across the sidewalk and the road seemed to be a park, but it was the strangest park Glinda had ever seen. It had a few trees but was mostly brick, with a tall waterfall marking the center. Instead of plants and benches, the park was adorned with giant statues that looked like eyeballs. They gave Glinda the creeps. She didn't know where she was, but she knew this wasn't Oz. This was somewhere else entirely.

"THERE SHE IS!"

Glinda flung around, fear flooding her system and terror taking hold as she saw Gale Force soldiers running towards her.

NO! she thought frantically. NO! How can this be? How did they get here? How did they find me!

Glinda didn't get the chance to move before the Grimmerie began to squirm, writhing and shoving against her until she had choice but to let it go. She dropped the book, but instead of hitting the ground, it hovered in mid air before vanishing before her eyes. Without the Grimmerie and with the Gale Force on her tail, Glinda had no choice but to turn and run.

She had no idea where she was going. She had no idea how the Gale Force could have managed to follow her here. She had no idea why the Grimmerie vanished, or where it could have went.

All she knew was that everything was lost. No one could help her now.

At least, that's what she thought.

The Grimmerie, however, had a plan of its own.


	4. Chapter 4: Lost and Found

Chapter 4:Lost and Found

When Erin sat down to use the bathroom after spending an achingly long time in the queue for the ladies toilet, she did not expect a large, heavy, leather-bound book to appear inside the stall and land on top of her shoes. But that is what happened, and now she needed to figure out what in the world was going on.

Erin loved The Phantom of the Opera. It was her mother and her grandmother's favorite musical, so she grew up listening to the soundtrack being played on her grandfather's ancient but still trustworthy vinyl, and then later on a CD that somehow still managed to work even after she accidentally stepped on it. Despite her intense lifelong love for the show, she always seemed to miss it when it came into Pittsburgh. She grew up in a tiny, podunk town a few hours from the city, and that drive seemed like a trek to another world that her barely-scraping-by working-class parents could not afford to make. She figured she would have to make due with loudly singing the songs on her commute home from work (despite the fact that Christine is a soprano and Erin most certainly is not).

Erin got her chance, however, when her husband James got a new job and they were able to snag a relatively cheap apartment in the city. It was close to a local college and tended to be loud most of the time, but it was worth it. For the small town girl, having the city at her fingertips was worth the broken vodka bottles on the steps and the occasional naked frat boy skipping down the sidewalk.

The only thing Erin had wanted for her birthday was tickets to the show. Not only did her husband snag two tickets in the center of balcony row A, but her friend Cassie and her husband Adam were able to snatch the two next to them. The couples came downtown early to get a good parking spot, and had spent the Saturday afternoon roaming around and grabbing dinner at a swanky new restaurant that cost enough that James had to put it on the credit card. Erin had worn her brand new black lace dress for the occasion, and sported a matching pair of open-toed gladiator heels that wrapped multiple times across her foot and up her ankle. With her outfit in place and her eyeliner perfectly winged and her program in hand, she was ready. For another surprise, her in-laws had donated money to the theatre in her name, which meant that her name got printed under the donor's section. When she opened page 35 to see "Erin Nomassen-Reid", she squealed loud enough for everyone near her to turn around and her husband to shake his head and pretend he didn't know her.

Erin spent the show with her mouth hanging open in awe, drinking in the lights and the sounds and the general excitement. James had complained of a man loudly chewing gum behind them, but she hadn't noticed. She was thrilled. It was her 27th birthday and everything was going perfectly.

Until intermission, that is.

Erin usually didn't bother using the bathroom at intermission due to the fact that every woman in the theatre would be heading the same direction. However, the swanky restaurant they visited before the show had a equally swanky cocktail list, and she may have had a few too many to keep her bladder in line for Act 2. Cassie, who also had a few cocktails of her own, was having similar bladder trouble, and as soon as the lights came up, the two dashed down the aisle and out into the main area, dodging and weaving around slower-walking people. Despite the speed of their exit, there was still a rather long line when they arrived at the ladies room.

"This is ridiculous," huffed Cassie, brushing a fiery red curl out of her face. "They said they were building new bathrooms, but that was months ago. There are way too many women who take way too long for this to be efficient."

Erin nodded in agreement, readjusting the glasses on her nose. "If this makes me miss even a second of Act 2, I'm going to rage, I swear."

"For. Real. I can see why you love this show so much. It's amazing."

"I told you so," grinned Erin, "and to think, you almost didn't want to go."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah ,I know, and you're going to remind of it every day for the next year."

"I mean," said Erin, shrugging, "you aren't wrong."

By the time the girls got to the front of the line, Erin felt like she was going to explode. She tapped her foot nervously on the black and white tile until a middle-aged blonde woman in a maxi dress toting two small children emerged from the farthest stall in the back left. Wasting no time, Erin flew into the stall and slammed the door, finally feeling the relief of doing her business.

The next thing she felt was something slamming onto her exposed toes, the pain and surprise making her yelp and almost launch herself off of the commode.

"What the actual hell?" she asked out loud. "A book?"

It was indeed a book. A book had appeared in her bathroom stall and landed on her feet. She could see the impact had ripped a chunk of nail off of her big toe, and it looked like there might be blood. When she leaned down to check the status of her toe, something even stranger happened.

The book moved.

Erin jumped again, blinking rapidly. She stood still for a moment, frozen, heart racing, trying to process what she just saw.

"There is now way," she whispered to herself. "I did not just see that. I'm apparently still drunk from dinner."

But then in happened again. The book had shifted itself an inch to the left. Erin backed up against the wall of the bathroom, plastering her body against the heavy metal that separated the stalls. The book wiggled again, shifting back and forth, as if it was trying to get her attention.

"Do you…do you want me to pick you up?" Erin laughed to herself immediately after she spoke. "I'm talking to a book. The book is moving and I'm talking to it. In the bathroom. Because it magically landed on my feet out of nowhere and it's moving around and I'm freaking losing my mind."

Erin delicately tiptoed from around the toilet, gingerly stepping around the book and placing her hand on the latch of the door. Just as she was about to open it, the book flung forward, cracking against her shin. Erin hissed in pain, pulling her leg up to her hip, hands grasping around her ankle.

"Okay, okay, geez, stop."

She bent down, hands trembling, placing her fingers on the worn leather. She lifted it from underneath, slightly underestimating its weight. She balanced it in her arms, tilting it so she could get a better look at it under the light.

The feeling that came over Erin was something she couldn't describe. It was as if the book had heat, and was somehow spreading the heat down her arms and into her torso, snaking down her legs and weaving around her head. The heat wasn't intolerable or painful, but more like the warmth of the sun on a summer's days. Goosebumps rose over the bare skin on her arms and legs, and her hands stopped trembling. The warmth was then replaced by a bolt of static electricity that shot through her system, sending every hair on her body standing straight up and leaving her short of breath. The static feeling wouldn't leave; it was as if tiny sparks were scuttling across her skin. She clutched the book to her chest, terrified and confused and oddly comforted all at the same time, when a sharp knock rattled the bathroom door.

"Erin, are you taking a shit or something?" Cassie's voice broke the spell. "Act 2 starts in five minutes! Let's go!"

Erin unlocked the door and opened it, coming mere inches from Cassie's freckled nose and intense blue eyes.

"Dude, what's your problem, why-" She stopped, seeing the new possession in Erin's arms. "Where did that come from?"

Erin roughly grabbed Cassie by the arm and hastily dragged her out of the bathroom. Erin knew the other women in the bathroom stared at her odd behavior and the giant book now nestled in the crook of her arm, but she didn't care. Instead of walking towards the rest of the theatre, she pulled Cassie into a corner by the donor's circle lounge that was thankfully empty. Cassie yanked her arm out of Erin's grip and rubbed it.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed. "What's going on? Where did you get the book? Why are you looking around like someone's going to jump you? You look like you've seen a damn ghost."

Erin's green eyes met Cassie's blue ones. "Cass, what I'm going to tell you is not going to make any sort of sense. But you know me, and you know I would never make up something this ridiculous, so you're just going to have to trust me."

Cassie scrunched up her face quizzically and crossed her arms. "You're being really weird, Erin."

Erin finally let the book drop from her protective grip on her chest, exposing its cover to Cassie. Erin, distracted by the book's animation, had barely got a good look at it. It was bound in brown leather, worn and ripped in various places, particularly in the corners. The spine was broken and covered in lines from what seemed to be hundreds of opening and closing motions. The book had no words on the cover to give a hint as to what was inside, only a small amount of embossed filigree trailed along the top and bottom edges. Cassie tilted her head, staring at the book intensely.

"It just…appeared," said Erin in a whisper. "I sat down, peed, and felt something slam onto my foot. I look down, and here it."

"What sort of idiot throws a book at someone in a bathroom?"

"It didn't seem thrown. We would've noticed someone carrying it around, because it's rather obvious looking. I would have heard it slide and it would have hit the tips of my toes. It landed on my feet, like it dropped from above."

"Above?" Cassie snorted. "Books fall from the ceiling in this place now?"

"I told you it sounded crazy."

"Yep, definitely crazy."

"And it's going to get crazier," Erin inhaled and swallowed hard. "Because the damn thing moves."

Cassie let out another one of her trademark snorts. "Moved? Seriously? Erin, I don't get what you're doing. If you're trying to be funny, it's not working."

Erin felt the frustration start to brew inside her. "I'm not joking, Cass." Her whisper came out harsher. "It freaking moved. Not just once, a couple of times. I tried to walk around it because I was completely freaked the hell out, and it wouldn't let me."

"Wouldn't _let_ you?"

"It smacked me in the damn shin. Hurt like a bitch, too."

Erin grabbed Cassie's hand and gripped it tightly. "Cass, I swear to you and god and every god of every religion on this stupid planet, the book moved. Then, when I picked it up, I felt something. It was like it…shocked me. Like an electrical shock almost, but it didn't hurt. It…felt…good?...I don't really know how to describe this…it's all so nuts but its true…there's something up with this freaking book and it just showed up and I can't seem to put it down…."

Cassie immediately let go of Erin's hand. She looked back and forth from Erin's desperate expression and book. Finally, after her eyes settled on the book for a white, her hands shot forward and grabbed onto the book. Erin immediately latched onto it tighter.

"What the hell, Cass?"

"This needs to go. You are losing your damn mind. Get rid of it!"

The two girls had death grips on each end of the book, attempting to pull it out of the other's hands with all of their might. Back and forth and back and forth, they fought over possession of the book like two unruly toddlers.

"LET IT GO."

"THIS BOOK IS WEIRD, ERIN. GET RID OF IT."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. IT NEEDS ME!"

"NEEDS YOU?! THAT'S IT!" Cassie growled, and with one final pull, removed the book from Erin's grip. In her anger and haste, she lost her own grip on the book, sending it soaring into the air and onto its impending smash onto the floor.

Only, the book did not make it to the floor. Instead, it floated. The book stayed at midriff level of both girls, hovering in mid air plain as day, wavering back and forth slightly as if it was trying to balance itself. Cassie's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Holy shit, it's floating. The book is floating."

Erin's eyes were also huge, but she somehow was not as surprised as she though she'd be.

"It has a mind of it's own, I told you. Now do you believe me?"

Cassie, slack-jawed, said nothing but managed a small nod.

"Um….what exactly is happening?"

Erin and Cassie whipped around to see their husbands, James and Adam, looking equally as confused as they did, eyes locked on the floating book. As if it noticed the two men and didn't want to be seen, the book immediately flew back into Erin's arms with enough force to knock her a step backward. It knocked the breath out of her, and she fumbled before getting a good grip on it.

James stepped forward, sharing the confused expression with the others.

"Please tell me I didn't just see what I thought I saw?"

"Nope, you did," replied Cassie, finally able to close her jaw. "Erin got attacked by a weird haunted book in the bathroom and decided to take it with her."

"It's not haunted! It's…um…well…"

There was a sudden fervor of motion and noise coming from the lobby of the theatre. The two couples looked at each other and then left the corner, investigating the new sudden noise. Fancy-dressed people were running through the lobby, tugging on the hands of children ("who freaking brings children to this show?" Erin had angrily exclaimed) and clomping heavily on tall stiletto heels. James and Adam subconsciously positioned themselves in front of the girls, arms out protectively.

Something bad was happening.

The soldiers flew in a moment later. Erin wasn't sure if they were soldiers, but they were all wearing the same emerald green pants and matching jacket , adorned with gold patches down the front and a gold arm band. The band said something on it, but Erin couldn't see what it was. They were about ten of them give or take, tearing through the lobby as if they were looking for something. It took Erin a second to realize why people were running; each one of the men was brandishing a dark brown shotgun.

The four ducked back into their corner, James and Adam pressing the girls into the wall. Erin felt her heart begin to race as the sounds of footsteps and running gave way to shouts and high-pitched screams. Cassie had a death grip on Adam's arm.

"Oh my god, what the hell?" whispered Cassie frantically. "What is going on? Who are they? What's happening?"

"Cass, shhh," said Adam. "None of us know."

"Well no shit, Sherlock, it was a rhetorical question."

"Cass!"

Erin, distracted by the frenzy just around the corner, realized that the book was no longer sitting still, pressed against her chest. It was vibrating in short spurts, almost matching the trembling of her hands. She relaxed her arms, pulling the book away from her, but it shoved itself back against her chest, not wanting her to let go.

That's when it dawned on her.

"The book."

"Erin, stop talking."

"It's the book."

"Erin-"

"LISTEN TO ME!" Erin hissed in the loudest whisper possible. Three faces turned to her.

"It's the book. They're after the book."

"How do you know?" asked Cassie. "Does it talk now?"

Erin repeated her last motion, letting her arms go loose so her husband and friends could watch it fling itself back against her. This time, it hit with enough force for her to let out a small "oof".

"See, it doesn't want me to let it go. I had been carrying it around fine until they showed up. It's like…it's scared or something." The book made another shivering motion.

"Whoever these guys are," continued Erin, "they want this book and this book does not want them to have it."

"What's in this book anyway?" asked Adam. "What could be so important that they're raiding the theatre to get it?"

"Um…I haven't actually opened it yet."

Cassie gave her friend a death stare.

"Are you serious right now? The haunted book fell on you and is basically attached to you but you never thought to OPEN IT"

"Look," Erin replied indignantly, "this has all been happening very fast and I've never got the chance to do so."

"Well do it," Cassie gestured to the book. "Open it. Let's see what's so important about it."

The book had stopped shaking at this point, so Erin felt safe enough to open the front cover. James, Adam, and Cassie all crowded around it, foreheads almost touching, wondering what exactly could be in this strange book.

Erin quickly flipped through a few pages. The pages were a beige color, yellowed at the edges, bearing various forms of writing. Each page was in different, as if several people had written in it. All of the writing was in ink, some black, some blue, some an eerie shade of garnet. Some of the writing was block lettered and chunky, others in painstakingly beautiful looped cursive, and others almost illegible, as if scribbled down in a hurry. Erin had trouble deciphering some of the text, even when the handwriting was neat. Many of the pages were in English, but some of them were in a very old style of English, much like Shakespearian dialogue, and others were in Latin. There were even Pages that were impossible to make out, in a language very strange and foreign. Small doodles accompanied some pages, tiny inked pictures of herbs and bottles and diagrams scrolling up and down the empty margins.

Erin felt the static feeling in her fingertips again, and it grew with each page that she turned. The others cocked their heads quizzically, mumbling here and there.

"This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen," remarked Adam after some time, running his hands through his short afro. "It's like it's someone's journal."

"More like a bunch of people's journals," added James. "All the writing is different. And The drawings remind me of the ones I used to add to my science notes."

"Wait, wait," Cassie stopped Erin's methodical flipping. "Let me read this."

The page she stopped on was written in black ink, splattered in places here and there. The handwriting was almost impossible to read, but it was laid out like a recipe with instructions. The only legible part of the page was the title, which Cassie decided to read out loud:

"Spell for Invisibility"

The four froze for a brief moment, until Erin felt it click.

"The book isn't haunted," she said. "It's magic. It's a spell book. Those soldiers are after this spell book and it somehow came to me."

"Spell book? Do you realize how insane this sounds?" remarked Adam.

"How else would you explain it floating then?" retorted his wife.

"I have no idea, but spells and magic aren't real!"

"Well it's either magic or it's haunted, and I'd rather not be possessed by some demon tonight!"

"Why do you think it came to you, Erin?" asked James, ignoring the other couple's argument. "Why do you have it?"

Erin shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. I get more confused by the second."

Just then, a piercing scream echoed through the lobby. The sound of rough male voices, shouting, began to get louder and louder, closer and closer. The four made eye contact.

"There's an emergency exit around the corner and behind us," said James quickly. "When I say go, we run. Don't wait, don't look back, just run, got it?"

A few panicked nods greeted him in reply, and with a short wave of his hand, and the four took off, shooting around the corner and bolting at breakneck speed down the dimly-lit hall to the metal door with bright red EXIT above it. The burst through the door, the boys slightly ahead due to their longer legs. Erin was glad she wore the gladiator shoes, for they gripped her ankles and kept her balance, while she knew Cassie was thanking the gods that she wore flats that day.

The four descended rapidly down multiple flights of steps, twisting and turning down a gray and dim stairwell until they finally shot out of the back of the theatre and into the alley. They were met with the darkness of the night, the sound of traffic and the intense smell of garbage. Gasping, they leaned against the brick, trying to catch their breath before they made their next move.

Before they could get a chance to think, they came face to face with a frightened looking blonde girl in a torn blue dress.


End file.
